'Keep persevering': MassBay class of 2017 graduates

WELLESLEY – Denied emergency housing on a technicality, Lindsey Gaetani and her 1-year-old son suddenly became homeless.

Moving from hotels to couches to her own car, Gaetani battled depression and hopelessness. She never expected to become a single mother, let alone under such circumstances.

Then, Gaetani made a choice – a choice that led her three years later to stand before the Massachusetts Bay Community College class of 2017 on Thursday as their student commencement speaker.

“Going from a homeless single mother to a graduate to a registered nurse seemed like a far-fetched dream at the time,” Gaetani said. “I made the choice to keep going, to keep fighting, to keep persevering.”

“And you all have that choice as well.”

Gaetani graduated with an associate's degree in nursing alongside nearly 300 students from 45 countries during MassBay’s 55th commencement exercises Thursday in Wellesley. The school also has campuses in Framingham and Ashland.

The ceremony capped a challenging year for the school community with the deaths of beloved faculty member Bruce Jackson and three students – one less than two weeks ago.

With temperatures in the 90s, school officials cut short the formal outdoor ceremonies, opting to present students their diplomas inside the air-conditioned auditorium.

Gaetani told her classmates that, even though many things in life are out of their control, they still can choose how to respond to the uncontrollable.

“Over the past few years, I have seen many of us overcome obstacles and unthinkable circumstances,” she said. “Yet here we all are standing proudly here together today.”

During his time at MassBay, Jean Gerard JeanLouis worked 12-hour shifts on the weekends at a nursing home to pay for his tuition. After graduating in 2007, he went on to become a decorated Boston Police officer.

In 2014, President Barack Obama honored JeanLouis – who delivered Thursday’s commencement address – for his heroism in confronting the Boston Marathon bombers during the April 2013 manhunt. His longtime partner, Officer Dennis Simmonds, died as a result of injuries suffered that same night.

“My career milestones were from the classroom walls of MassBay to the walls of the Boston Police Academy to the walls of the East Room of the White House,” he told graduates.

JeanLouis serves with police department’s Youth Violence Strike Force, commonly known as the gang unit, and is pursuing a master’s degree in criminal justice leadership at Northeastern University.

“You are here because you chose to empower yourself,” JeanLouis said. “Making the choice to push yourself is no easy thing, especially when you encounter so many obstacles along the way and people trying to tear you down.”

Elvis Alves, 19, moved to the United States from Cape Verde seven years ago. On Thursday, he graduated with an associate's degree in automotive technology: BMW.

“It’s awesome,” Alves said. “I came here, I didn’t know the language, I didn’t know much and now I am able to graduate from college. It’s really cool for my family.”

Jonathan Dame can be reached at 508-626-3919 or jdame@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @DameReports